Back on track

摘要

As the electric trolley bus sweeps quietly and cleanly through Winterthur, just north of Zuerich, I try to imagine the person I'm about to meet. The notion of a Swiss engineer who is also a steam train enthusiast conjures up an image of someone between a boring banker and a socially-challenged adolescent in an anorak. Yet, a quarter of an hour later, having met Roger Waller, I realise that my preconceptions are in for a battering. His flamboyant black and white shirt betrays a relaxed style and dry sense of humour. And he's clearly in touch with the way most people perceive steam. "The biggest problem facing steam is not efficiency, but its image," he says. "People see. it as dirty and old-fashioned."